Tampere

During my stay in Finland, I also went to visit my host families and friends in Tampere. Emilia, my host sister, and I took the bus together from Helsinki. Our (host) dad came to pick us up at the bus station. We went straight to the school in Ylöjärvi where our little sister Milla's wanhat/prom was going to take place.

Emilia and I had our wanhat (read more about it here) together two years ago, so we had lots of flashbacks and fangirling moments. It was nice to notice that I actually remembered most of the steps, the wiener waltz is forever engraved in my memory, and this year's 'oma tanssi' (the students' own choreography) is too. Everyone, especially Milla of course, looked so elegant and fancy! I loved being able to experience the wanhat again, but from a different point of view and without my feet hating me. I also took the opportunity to catch up with some of my former teachers and friends.

On Friday and Saturday, I took some time to walk around in Tampere, take pictures, do some shopping - I finally bought a Muumin book! - and feel nostalgic. I also visited an exhibition with my friend Samuli, you can read all about it here. And of course, I took time to catch up with all the lovely animals, and (crazy) host siblings. 

Summer vacation - Part III

Hi! 

This is the last part, I promise! 

The final stop of our summer vacation was Tampere, a.k.a. my Finnish home. I was quite nervous for this because it was the very first time my Belgian mom would meet my host families, friends and my Finnish life. It turns out I had nothing to worry about because everybody got along nicely and my mom actually likes my Finnish life. For me, this was the best part of the trip, especially because I got to celebrate my 20th birthday there. Having my Belgian mom and both my host families at the same table was an amazing experience and I am so grateful it happened! It most definitely was an awesome birthday to never forget!

Me and my mom 

Me and my friend Samuli (the glasses are actually mine :) )

The Russian church in Tampere

My friend Samuli and my mom

Koskenranta in Tampere

My host sisters (Emilia & Milla), Leonardo 

(the Italian exchange student who was there for the summer)

and me

My host brother Oskari and I 

At my host family's summer house, 

the most peaceful place on Earth

Swimming in style :)

Welcome back!

Hey there! Long time no see!

The past few weeks, I have been quite busy, first with exams and then I finally went back to Finland to visit my family and friends! I had one week of holidays from university, and I took it as an opportunity to go back to my second home. WOOHOO!!!!!!!

It was so wonderful to be back! It felt as if I had just been away for a week. Nothing much had changed, except that my first host family now has a second dog (Sulo, he's only 10 months old but already quite big and strong), and my little host sister Milla is now on exchange in Spain. But I was at home again!
I spent the week resting, eating (of course), spending time with my family and friends, and walking the dogs, basically just reconnecting with my Finnish life. 

The little road behind my family's house 

In Tampere

With my friend Samuli

Also in Tampere

Again in Tampere

Veeti (the older dog) on the left and Sulo (the younger dog) on the right

My friend Samuli made my portrait! 

PS: You can now also follow my adventures on this Facebook-page: https://www.facebook.com/pages/Snow-up-to-my-hips-Finnish-adventures/428160790672637?ref=bookmarks

Tervetuloa Kevät! Welcome Spring!

This weekend, I enjoyed the wonderful weather, the sun was shining the whole time!
On Saturday, I watched my host family do some gardening, while I took pictures.
Also, I discovered that sweet water, called mahla in Finnish, can come out a tree when you drill a hole in its trunk.

 

 

On Sunday afternoon, my friends and I had a lovely picnic in Tampere. I must say, the chocolate cake I made was pretty good, so was the food the other girls brought.



 

Friday night in Tampere

Last Friday night, I went to Tampere with some friends. It was a special occasion because it was the last night in Finland for Paola and Alessandra.
We just walked around in the city, and had a bite to eat. We wanted to go play laser tag or bowling but that didn't work out somehow...